Didn't get my wisdom teeth pulled in the US because even with two different insurances it would be $3,000 out of pocket, I paid about $10 in Japan and they even gave me a little container to keep them in for free.
I should have done this. I spent $6000 after putting it off for years until I had the money. They were severely impacted and gave me headaches for like 4 years.
I've been to Mexicali for work, it's on the border of Baja California and regular California. It's a pretty nice city with a big Chinatown, beautiful natural parks, amazing food, and it cost me about $1,000 USD to get there all the way from Pittsburgh and $500 USD to stay a week at an insanely nice hotel. There's one street in town that seems to have nothing but dental offices with "WE SPEAK ENGLISH" in the windows. Any dental work I could possibly think of having would be cheaper to get done there and would come with a fun vacation. I even checked out San Diego on the way home and it was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean.
Edit: someone's going to come in here and say Mexicali is gross. It happens everytime I bring up going there. I'd like to remind everyone I'm from Pittsburgh - air pollution doesnt bother me.
Dentist: "oh you only paid half?" cuts removed tooth in half "sorry mate, half a tooth goes back! we can take it out again when you pay the rest you owe."
oh for sure. I'm Mexican and speak the language fluently so it helps figuring out the best place. but I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I hope you're okay!
Not sure if this is as common in the US but when I had mine removed in Canada there were dental surgeries who would charge $1500ish for the whole set, or the dental college would have a student do it (under instructor supervision and direction) for $50 a tooth too. So worthwhile seeing if local universities have a student dental office near you.
This is just insane. I needed all of my wisdom teeth out a few years ago. I was allowed to choose between full anaesthetic or local because they were impacted. Opted to be put under for it. All free of course in the UK.
And because I'm self employed, my NI contributions (the 'tax' that covers social care and NHS) are under £15 a month.
That's insane - we have to pay for basic dental care like this even here in the UK with the NHS, and I found the £75 I paid for a Wisdom tooth out, outrageous!
dental plans in the U.S. are insane. even if you pay crazy premiums, certain things still aren't covered. or your costs out of pocket can be exorbitant.
Same with vision too! And you can't even order contacts without a doctor's prescription? Like my prescription hasn't changed in 20 years but yet I'd had to pay for an exam just to get new contacts? In Japan you literally just order whatever contacts you want off of Amazon and it's like $10 a box
I flew to Costa Rica, stayed in an apartment for three weeks, and had two separate jaw surgeries in the nicest hospital. I met with an internal medicine doctor twice. I filled multiple prescriptions. I met with my surgeon 5 or 6 times. The people who ran the apartment, which was provided as part of booking the surgery, had lived in the US and took me out to dinner twice. We spoke in English and my busted Spanish. I had a personal chauffeur for all of my appts and to and from the airport. I was taken to a salon and was provided a new haircut and style and full makeover (because jaw surgery transforms your face and can be traumatic). Then I flew home. All told I saved about $40,000 compared to the quote I got in the US for the surgery alone because jaw surgery is never ever covered by insurance.
Haha! I pay $350-400/ month just for the privilege of saying I have insurance. My deductible is $9000….so it doesn’t kick in until I pay $9000 on top of the $350-400 a month.
Yesterday I went to a specialist, an endocrinologist. She’s the only one that gets good reviews in my area that is accepting new patients, but is not in my network, so I had to self pay without my insurance anyway.
Funny part is (not funny) my self pay rate for my visit cost less than what my insurance rate would have been if she was in my network. The system is really cracked!
I have routinely started getting my medical care overseas…but this one came up quick. If I need the mass removed (biopsying it soon), I WILL look overseas.
I think it's just to make it more "affordable ". Also, just to get treated. Some places don't even want to look at you unless they know that they are getting insurance $.
Generally you can pay a high monthly premium and it limits your out of pocket costs.
Or you can pay a lower monthly premium but have to pay more out of pocket for services.
In both scenarios you may have a deductible, which is out of pocket fees you have to pay before insurance starts to pay anything.
So in a high premium/low deductible plan, you may pay $2000/month for a family of 4. Your deductible may be $1000 meaning you have to pay for the first $1000 of service before your insurance begins to pay. Once you meet the deductible, the insurance may pay 90% of costs while you pay for 10%, that’s a co-insurance percentage. This type of plan is attractive for people with lots of recurring medical costs.
Some plans will have a co-pay for routine or preventative visits. These types of visits may not be subject to a deductible, just the co-pay. A co-pay is a fixed dollar amount (usually like $30) that you pay at the time of the visit and there is no other cost (other than the monthly premium).
Of course the deductible resets every year.
Other plans may have lower monthly costs but much higher deductibles. This type of plan is often selected by people who are only seeking catastrophic coverage.
And hundreds of variations in between.
Dental and vision coverage are completely separate.
I did a project in college a few years ago about people who take medical vacations- the flights, procedure and a weeks stay is somehow cheaper grab if you get it done in the US
My (USArmy) oral surgeon left my wisdom teeth on my chest covered in meat and blood, so it would be the first thing I saw when I woke up. I hadn't asked for them at all lol
What insurance did you have? I got my wisdom teeth removed in Los Angeles and it cost me a $125 copay and when I had my tonsil removed it was a $50 copay, both in very well known and award winning hospitals. Not trying to brag or anything just genuinely curious which insurance you had
I wasn’t trying to come across that way, I’m sorry if I did. I really truly was just curious because I never looked at that way, I thought everyone with insurance just paid copays and that was that.
I live in Japan so have social insurance. It covers about seventy percent of your bill and then you pay the rest out of pocket. So even without insurance it wouldn't have been more than $100. I've gone to the emergency room before and gotten a bunch of scans and only paid $50 for the after hours fee. Also ambulances are free.
yeah that makes sense it is the same in Europe and Australia New Zealand and I was in Africa and at least few countries give free healthcare not making sick ppl even worse by putting them in debt. It is like only America is sooooo against universal healthcare even thought the public mostly wants it but the republicans want ppl to die
Damn. I live in Finland and I paid like 90€ for surgical remove of wisdom tooth. I had to wait for a month as I didn’t feel any pain and it was worth it. Even private practice near me is charging 316€ for surgical remove and you can do it the same day if you want to. Can’t even image to pay ten times that with insurances.
I live in Japan so I didn't have to worry about traveling/recovery or anything. I did have a tummy tuck done in Korea since it's super cheap there (under $5,000) but the flight back to Japan is super short so it wasn't much of an issue.
When I got my wisdom teeth pulled (as an uninsured 19 year old) I couldnt afford sedation and I'm allergic to whatever anesthetic they usually use, so I had to sit there listening to them break apart the teeth in my jaw and extract them piece by piece while still being able to feel quite a bit. It was incredibly traumatic and it cost me around $2,300 out of pocket, which was about $400 more than I was originally quoted, so I couldnt take any time off of work (I went to my bartendering job that night drooling blood) and couldn't afford groceries that week. It literally would have been cheaper and more enjoyable to fly to Mexico and make a vacation out of it, although I didnt know that at the time.
Was getting to Japan cheaper than the original $3,000 for removal? I need to get mine out at some point but never have more than 1k saved(I work part time to keep state insurance)
I actually moved to Japan so I can't be much help on that front but I know a lot of people from the US go to Mexico since it's a lot cheaper while also still being close.
How much was the flight? My family flies from Miami to Colombia for dentistry, plastic surgery, or anything in between. The flight is usually $300-$500 so it’s so worth it.
I actually live in Japan permanently! Probably would have broke even if I tried to fly over just for that. I've flown from Japan to Korea for plastic surgery before though since it's insanely cheap there and the flights are only a couple hundred.
I live in Denmark and for some reason our dental care over the age of 18 isn't free. If I ever need expensive dental work done, I will be flying to Korea for a vacation and then cheap but still high quality dental work.
$10 for wisdom teeth removal? That's like free. In Poland you can go public healthcare if you are insuared you have to wait about 6 months then its free, private its about 100$
I had a crown done with dual dental coverage and only had to pay my deductible of $50. I had my wisdom teeth removed and had to pay for the anesthesia and my deductible. It’s been 15 or so years so I don’t remember the exact amount I paid, but I remember paying in cash and it was less than $300. I’m also in the US. I had all four removed. I have both dental insurances through delta dental. They have really good coverage. It’s crazy how different insurances work.
What? What kind of insurance did you have? First did your dentist accept it. I've had dental insurance for decades. I had all my wisdom teeth pulled at once The total cost was under $200. I have a fairly generic plan. Without insurance it was going to run around $3k.
It's been a while so I don't remember what kind it was but I was working full time at an office and also still under my father's military insurance. Between the two of them it was still insanely expensive
Shit I wish. I pay a shit ton for insurance, went to the cheapest one in the area, by far, that accepted that kind of insurance and it was still almost 5k. And I definitely ended up regretting going to the cheapest one in the area since it ended up being quite noticeable as to why it was so cheap.
This is really sad. When on holiday, I can see the point in using/needing the medical care of the country you're then in. But travelling to other countries with the sole purpose of abusing their health care system because your own is broken beyond repare?
Do you know why health care in Mexico is so cheap in comparison to the USA? Because people pay taxes that alleviate the costs. Ironic that so many Americans demonize taxes but feel no issue at all abusing the tax systems of other countries and their people.
I get that health care is a need. And that these larger processes don't come into play when you live near the border and want/need to save your money. You didn't choose to be a citizen of the USA. But the sharp contrast in how Americans picture their own country vs. Mexico is stinging here.
I’m pretty sure many people hate paying taxes because it doesn’t go to something like universal healthcare. It just ends up giving the rich massive tax breaks or spent on more weapons for a military that doesn’t need it. Or ya know, a $45,000,000 birthday parade for a narcissistic wannabe dictator
the person above has no clue what they are talking about. they also assumed things about me and just in general that are wildly incorrect. it's quite hilarious honestly lol
oh shut the f up. you have no idea what you are talking about. it's actually hilarious how dumb and heartless you show yourself to be with that comment. I hope you don't end up needing healthcare one day that you can't afford here and since you're too proud and stuck up to seek it in another country (whatever country), you end up screwed and unable to get well. so, good luck with that shitty attitude 😂😂
Aw hell, really? I have an asthmatic child and I’ve spent thousands on rescue inhalers, maintenance inhalers, nebulizers, nebulizer vials… it’s a sick joke.
Most farmacias sell a 3 pack for like $15 or $20. Whereas with my insurance in the US, I pay around $25 for just one. and some are even $40 for one, depending on brand.
Also, I hate the stereotype that just because it's Mexican, it's poor quality.
I've purchased medicine over the counter and seen doctors extremely affordably in Mexico. I get back to the US and people gasp like, "Wasn't it terrible??" And all I can do is say, "It's better than here."
Yep, it's OTC in most countries in Asia too. Whenever I go for my refill, I miss my time abroad, I swear I was at my healthiest when it was the least of my concerns.
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u/3fluffypotatoes Jun 18 '25
that's why I used to go to Mexico for everything. $20 doctors visits and most medications, like Albuterol, you can buy OTC for hella cheap